From Within
by KyimBlack93
Summary: It had been almost a year since Morrigan had met Ghastly and the others. A year since she had made friends. Real friends. A year since she had found out who she really was. A year since Sebastian, a vampire who had kept her captive and tortured her for many, many years, had finally caught up with her. This next year is about to get real interesting. *Please Leave Reviews*


Morrigan ran and jumped over a fallen tree that was in her way. She was breathing heavily, and her legs were ready to give out. She didn't want to risk glancing behind her.

It had been almost a year since she had met Ghastly and the others.  
A year since she had made friends. Real friends.  
A year since she had found out who she really was.  
A year since Sebastian, a vampire who had kept her captive and tortured her for many, many years, had finally caught up with her. She had, had two run ins with Sebastian's vampires, but they hadn't bothered her since. The last two months they had started coming out of the woodwork.

She tripped, landed on her hands and flipped herself back upright. She kept running. As soon as she was out of the woods, she would be able to get him.  
She spun behind a tree and flattened herself against the trunk. The vampire blurred past and she breathed out steadily.  
"Need a hand?"  
Morrigan looked up and grinned. She had met Fletcher Renn through Valkyrie. She and Fletcher had become friends quickly, as she learned he could act as silly as her sometimes. He was always wanting to laugh. That, and she enjoyed being able to teleport wherever they liked, whenever they were bored.  
She took her daggers out of her jacket pocket and reached for his hand. She blinked and she was falling towards the vampires back. She held a dagger in each hand, pointed them inwards.  
She landed on the vampires back as it broke through the tree line. She slammed the daggers into either side of the vampire's neck and twisted. Vampire roared and started to slow down. Morrigan kept her grip on the daggers.  
The vampire finally dropped and slid a few metres in the dirt.  
Morrigan switched hands on the daggers and dragged them through the vampires' flesh towards the back of its neck. She couldn't help grinning.  
She pulled the daggers out and jumped off the creature.  
"Was that entirely necessary?"  
Morrigan smirked and kicked the vampires head. It came off and rolled away.  
"Of course not. Not entirely anyway." She shrugged. "Better off taking my anger out on them."  
"I don't think that's how it's supposed to work."  
She turned to Fletcher. She shrugged again. "Ok, I'll admit it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."  
She looked at the dead vampire again, wiped the blood off the daggers in its corpse and put them back in their pockets.  
"You're a freak, you know that."  
Morrigan grinned. "Absolutely."  
"Do you want to go home yet? That's the third vampire tonight."  
Her grinned faded.  
She was tired but she was also riled up. A bad combination.  
She sighed. "Fine I'll go back to Gordon's. If I can't sleep, I can always put loud music on, I guess. Not the same, but it'll work."  
She looked at Fletcher.  
"I know, I know." He said. "Not a word to Valkyrie or Skulduggery." He crossed his heart.  
Morrigan smiled at him. "Good."  
He touched her shoulder and they were in Gordon's kitchen. Fletcher pointed to the fridge. "Food."  
She didn't feel hungry, but she did as he said. She found some left over spaghetti and started eating that.  
She looked up to see him staring at her. She frowned. "What?"  
"You seriously need to deal with your anger."  
"Oh. Is that all? Yea, I know." She finished eating and put the bowl in the sink. "So, where are you going now?"  
Fletcher shrugged. "I'll find somewhere. You need to sleep."  
"I'm going to have a shower, then bed." She made a face. "I smell like vampire."  
He laughed. "Alright, I'll see you." She waved and he disappeared.

She walked into the loungeroom and stopped. "Ah."  
"So that's what you've been doing."  
She hadn't seen Skulduggery for a few days. She shifted her feet uncomfortably.  
"On the upside, I haven't been bitten." She held out her arms and grinned.  
He crossed his arms in front of him.  
She dropped her arms. "At least I know I can take them now. My goal is Sebastian, obviously, though. Anton's still training me, when he's here. I can control my powers better, and I have wings in case I get into trouble."  
"You dragged Fletcher into your secret night hunts."  
Morrigan clicked her tongue and shook her head. "No. He just happened to catch me out one night, and now occasionally he shows up. I don't make him do anything."  
"What about Anton? Does he know how you've been using his training?"  
She hesitated. "I didn't think he would appreciate knowing that, no."  
Skulduggery nodded and sighed. "You need a better pass time than hunting vampires."  
Morrigan walked past him and up the stairs. He followed. "If you have any ideas, I'm all ears, but just so you know, I actually enjoy it."  
"I can see that."  
She looked down and saw a big patch of blood on her jacket. "Ah. Right." She grinned, then stopped. "I _may _enjoy it a little _too _much." She admitted.  
"Uh huh. You're coming to the Sanctuary with us tomorrow."  
She stopped at the bathroom door and turned. "What? Why?"  
"You need to meet a few people."  
Morrigan narrowed her eyes. "Why?" She said it slowly. She still didn't feel comfortable around a lot of people and especially people she didn't know.  
"Because it'll be good for you."  
"Why do I have to meet them at this thing? Why can't we just invite them around for coffee, like normal people."  
"You're going."  
She didn't change her expression. "Fine, but I'm wearing this."  
He looked at her for a minute, tapping his chin. "Scrub the blood off. You need to leave a _good _first impression." He turned and walked away.  
"You annoy me." She called.  
"I know."

The next morning, Morrigan got out of bed feeling energetic. She put some loud music on, which annoyed Gordon. Morrigan just laughed and pretended to dance with him.  
"You're highly irritating, you know that?"  
She grinned. "Oh, definitely."  
She started to think about when Skulduggery was picking her up and that led her to thinking about not having a phone. A phone would come in real handy sometimes. Especially considering she hated waiting around. Waiting caused thinking, and thinking meant thoughts would come that were unwelcome.  
She sat on a chair and looked out the window. She sat there for an hour before she got bored, and then decided to go outside to practice with the air. She was still terrible at it.  
She practiced with the air currents for another hour before she saw Skulduggery and Valkyrie drive up the driveway.  
She skipped to the car, grinning. She knew she looked crazy, but she didn't care. She had so much energy today.  
"Hi." She chirped as she got into the car.  
"Why are you so happy today?" Valkyrie turned to look at her as they drove away again.  
Morrigan shrugged. "I don't know, I just have a lot of energy. I should have flown to the Sanctuary and met you there. Although,' she said, thinking,' I don't actually know where it is, so…"  
"We can find you something to do to get rid of that energy."  
Morrigan looked at Skulduggery. "Oh yea? Like what?" She was bouncing in her seat. She couldn't sit still.  
"There's a space in the Sanctuary dedicated to training. When Anton's not here, you can go there and use it."  
She nodded. "Ok, but won't anyone mind? I thought we all agreed only certain people would know about me?"  
So far, only Valkyrie, Ghastly and China knew who she was. Morrigan didn't really count Finbar Wrong and Cassie Pharos. They were the ones who tried telling her in the first place.  
Skulduggery had mentioned about her telling Anton and meeting the rest of Dead Men, but that's as far as it had gotten.  
"We don't need to tell anyone who you are for you to be able to use it. You can train with other people."  
Morrigan made a face. "Other people? Ew."  
"You need to be some kind of social."  
"You two are the detectives. You can be social enough for me as well."  
Skulduggery shook his head and Valkyrie laughed.

They pulled up in front of a Waxworks Museum and Morrigan shivered.  
"That's not creepy at all." She muttered.  
They all got out of the car and Morrigan followed them slowly into the building. She didn't think she would like this place. She always thought mannequins were creepy.  
"Come on." Valkyrie was waving her over. Morrigan was still just inside the front door. Taking a deep breath, she followed.  
She wasn't really paying attention to what they were doing, but suddenly they were all in a long white corridor. As they walked, there were more doors, and more people. They would pass more corridors occasionally. This place was huge.  
Occasionally, Skulduggery or Valkyrie would say something but Morrigan wasn't really listening. She was watching everyone walking or running arounds, errands or otherwise. She was introduced to Tipstaff, but she barely glanced at the man.

As they walked down one corridor, Morrigan saw another, more unusual one. She stopped and glanced at Skulduggery and Valkyrie. They weren't paying her any attention, so she slipped into the side corridor.  
It only had three doors and a dead end. The reason she found it interesting was it was the only corridor that was a dead end appeared to go nowhere. Well, ok, she just wanted to wander.  
Morrigan tried two of the doors but they were locked. She shrugged and tried the last door. It opened and she was greeted by a massive, open room. At first glance, it seemed empty, but at the far end she spotted a large stereo. Morrigan grinned and walked over to it. She left the door open just in case it locked on her.  
She turned the stereo on and looked around for some music to put on. She spied a USB drive half hidden under a huge speaker.  
She plugged it into the port hoping there was decent music on it.  
The first song to come on was one of her favourites. She grinned turned it up and started dancing and singing.  
When the song ended, she laughed, thinking about what Skulduggery would say. She figured Valkyrie would just laugh at her.  
The next few songs Morrigan listened to were also ones she knew. She was so happy she found this room and the USB.

The last that played, Best of You by Foo Fighters, really struck home for her, so she sang it loudly with all her heart. In a way, she wished she had someone to share this with.  
Once the song had finished, she started laughing. Once she stopped, she heard clapping. Slow clapping. She jumped and turned around.  
She fully expected it to be Skulduggery, in all his sarcastic glory.  
The man standing at the door wasn't Skulduggery, so Morrigan frowned.  
He was taller than her, but then again, most people were taller than her.  
She saw he was wearing black shoes, light blue jeans and an off white jumper. His light brown hair was shiny and looked fluffy at the same time. He was a pretty man, but what got Morrigan was his eyes. His eyes that looked as though they were burning into her soul. As though they were trying to poison her from the inside out. They creeped her out.  
The man came closer to her. Morrigan reached back and turned the stereo off, pocketing the USB. Her eyes never left the man.  
"Don't let me stop you from having your fun. I was enjoying watching."  
Morrigan smirked. "I bet you were."  
Once he was a few steps away, he held out his hand. She looked at him and then at his hand warily.  
He just smiled at her. He was a good-looking man, but it seemed that he knew it too. Morrigan wasn't impressed.  
"Perhaps introductions?"  
"Go for it." She replied, still watching him closely.  
He grinned and laughed. He kept his hand where it was. "Erskine Ravel. And you?"  
Morrigan blinked and then laughed. She took his hand and shook it. "Morrigan. I know who you are, Mr Ravel. Ghastly told me a little bit about you." She added when he looked confused.  
"You know Ghastly Bespoke?"  
"Yea,' She said taking her hand back,' He's my best friend. Well, I think of him like that anyway."  
"How long have you known Ghastly? I don't think I've seen you before. I would have remembered."  
Morrigan rolled her eyes and walked around him. "Flattery won't get you anywhere with me, Mr Ravel." She walked towards the door and Erskine followed. "I've known him about a year. Before that, I didn't know anyone."  
"Oh?" He caught up to her at the door and he stepped out as she closed it.  
"I'm a bit lost, Mr Ravel. I need to find the people I was with."  
"I can help you. Who were you with, and which way did they go?"  
Morrigan walked up the corridor to where she last saw Valkyrie and Skulduggery.  
"They were up here, somewhere. I may have wandered off on them." She shrugged. "I didn't want to come here in the first place. They were taking me to the place where they do training. This is my first time here, so I have no idea where that is."  
He kept pace with her, even though that wasn't hard. He had longer legs than her.  
"I can show you where it is."  
She stopped and looked at him. She was thinking whether or not he was trustworthy. This man was as hard to read as Skulduggery.  
She put her arm in front her and bowed slightly.  
"By all means, Mr Ravel, lead the way."

He led her to another open room, far from the one she had found. She found herself grateful she had met Erskine Ravel. She would have easily gotten lost in this place.  
They stepped into the room and she instantly saw Skulduggery and Valkyrie. It was hard to miss a tall girl in black walking around with a skeleton in a suit. Morrigan breathed a sigh of relief.  
Valkyrie spotted her and nudged Skulduggery. Morrigan did her best to look sheepish.  
Erskine spotted them as they walked over.  
"Ah, Skulduggery. Just escorting young Miss Morrigan here. Seems she got herself lost. Apparently, she's meeting someone here."  
Skulduggery looked at her. Morrigan put her hands behind her back and tried to look innocent.  
"I'm sorry I wandered off. This place is just so big; I thought I would be able to catch up."  
Erskine turned his head to her. "This is who you were with?"  
Morrigan grinned. "I may have been deliberately vague."  
Valkyrie looked at her. "I want to hit you."  
She blinked back. "Why?"  
"Because every time you take off, I have to hear about it."  
Morrigan nodded. "Ah. Right. Sorry."  
Valkyrie shook her head and walked away to watch two people wrestling.  
Skulduggery turned to her. "Well, since you were gone a while, we only just have time to show you around. Erskine, would you like to accompany us?"  
Morrigan hoped he would say no. She didn't like the way he looked at her.  
"Sure. I'll make sure she doesn't wander off again." He looked down at her and winked. Morrigan could barely contain her shudder.  
"It's alright, Erskine. She won't wander off again. Will you?"  
Morrigan shook her head. "Nope. I'll be a limpet from now on." She wanted to grab Skulduggery's arm, but she settled for a salute.

The next hour was Skulduggery and Valkyrie showing her around and telling her what she was and wasn't allowed to do in there. Erskine would occasionally make a comment, but Morrigan tried to ignore him.  
Valkyrie looked at her watch. "Time to go." She said to Skulduggery.  
"Ah. Sorry, Erskine, you'll have to excuse us. I'm sure we'll see you again soon though."  
Erskine was looking at Morrigan when he said, "I hope so."  
He took her hand and held it for a moment, before he turned and walked away.  
Morrigan breathed out. She felt like she had been holding her breath the whole time since she met Erskine.

As they were walking out of the Sanctuary, Skulduggery looked at her. He tilted his head towards her.  
"You need to be careful of Erskine Ravel."  
Morrigan made a face at him. "That. Is. _Never_. Going to happen. Ever. In a million years."  
He nodded. "Good."  
"I know why." Valkyrie said as they got into the car. Morrigan widened her eyes at Valkyrie.  
"Why's that, then?" Skulduggery asked as he started the car and pulled out onto the road.  
"I just didn't like the way he looked at me." Morrigan said quickly, then shuddered. "I honestly felt like throwing up when he winked at me."  
"Well, whatever the reason, just be careful around him."  
"Don't have to worry about that." She looked around as she realised, they weren't going back to Gordon's, or towards Ghastly's. She frowned.  
"Where are we going?"  
Valkyrie didn't look at her, and Skulduggery took a minute to reply.  
"We're just going for a bit of a drive."  
Morrigan was suspicious, but she said nothing. She needed to learn to trust her friends.  
Suddenly, she was very tired. She leaned her head against the window and her eyes drooped.  
The dream she had was about Anton. She dreamt he was training her in the clearing, like always. She dreamt he slammed her down on the ground and then pulled her up, telling her to focus. She saw something move behind him, but he tackled her to the ground again before she could open her mouth. As he stood up, three vampires jumped on him and brought him down. She reached out for him, screaming his name. Then someone came and stood between them. She stood up, ready to fight. Sebastian stood there, smiling at her like nothing was happening. She swung at him, but he moved. His smile grew wider. Then he leaned forward, whispered to her and then faded away like smoke.  
"I'm coming for you."

Morrigan opened her eyes. She quickly opened the car door and threw up everything until there was nothing left in her stomach. She got out of the car without even looking at Valkyrie and Skulduggery.  
She closed the door and went to the nearest tree. She hid behind it and started to cry.  
She thought she was ready to face Sebastian again, but that dream had proved her wrong. Maybe Skulduggery was right, maybe she shouldn't be hunting vampires. Especially alone.  
Valkyrie poked her head around the tree. "Are you alright?"  
Morrigan slid down the tree until she was sitting. "Just a bad dream."  
Valkyrie hesitated, then sat next to her. "I know. You kind of screamed. You screamed for Anton, and you were screaming at someone else."  
Morrigan only nodded. "Sebastian. He had his vampires attack Anton. He says,' She took a shaky breath,' He says he's coming for me." She looked at Valkyrie. "He's not going to get Anton. He's not going to get any of you. I won't let him."  
"Good." Skulduggery appeared around the tree. "Now that, that's settled…"  
Morrigan frowned, and then felt the tremors. Her eyes widened and she grinned. She wiped her face, jumped up and ran over to the clearing. She hadn't even realised where she was until now.  
She watched as the Midnight Hotel grew and sprouted. She always loved watching it.  
She felt Skulduggery beside her and Valkyrie behind her, but she didn't look at them. She was focused on the hotel. And seeing Anton. She had missed him so much, but she hadn't been able to even tell Ghastly about it. He had been so busy lately.  
When the hotel had fully grown, she looked to Skulduggery. He tilted his head and swept his arm towards the hotel. Morrigan grinned. She could feel the sparkle in her eyes. She turned and ran towards the hotel. She had to dodge around people coming out, but some of them she knew, so they waved to her and smiled.  
She stopped on the veranda of the hotel. She took a couple of deep breaths and walked into the hotel.  
She looked around. The place was empty. She frowned. This place always had more people the first day.  
Her heart beat a little quicker as she imagined all the possibilities. She stepped forward slowly, stretching out her Empath abilities and feeling at the air for movement. She still hadn't quite got the hang of it, but it worked well enough if there was someone sneaking up behind her.  
"Where is everyone?" She heard Valkyrie say.  
"They all have just left, it seems." Skulduggery sounded about as convinced as Morrigan felt. That alone frightened her.  
She got to the desk and hesitated. She slowly walked around it and poked her head under it. She breathed out. No one was there.  
Then where was Anton?  
Panic seized her as she remembered her dream. She started to shake and sweat. She wavered and she had to grab the desk for support. She felt a hand grip her shoulder.  
"Are you alright?"  
She looked up. The first thing she saw was his eyes. Concern clouded them. His hair was over one shoulder while the other side was in his face slightly.  
"Anton." She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "I thought something bad had happened."  
He hugged her back briefly and stood back from her. He looked at Skulduggery, then Valkyrie.  
"What have I missed?"  
Morrigan glanced over her shoulder. "A lot. There's a few things I need to tell you, I think."  
She saw Skulduggery nod, out the corner of her eye.  
"Morrigan?"  
Morrigan turned to Skulduggery. He took a phone and it's charger out of his pocket and handed it to her.  
"Don't lose this. My number, Valkyrie's and Ghastly's are in there. Don't use it unless you need too." She watched him as he turned slightly to Anton. "Get Anton's number as well." He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly.  
"We'll be back later to check on you." He turned and walked out of the hotel. Morrigan went up to Valkyrie and whispered in her ear. "Does he know about me and Anton?"  
Valkyrie shrugged. "You two aren't even together, so relax. I'll see you later." And she walked off after Skulduggery.  
As she turned back to Anton, he had his arms crossed, looking at her with a small smile. "Things to tell me?"  
Morrigan scratched the back of her neck. She did this whenever she was anxious. "Yea. Um, we need coffee for this. Well, I do."  
Anton sighed. "I've been gone a month. What have you done?"  
She placed her phone and charger into her jacket pocket as he led her into the communal kitchen, made coffee and they sat down. Morrigan took a deep breath and started at the beginning.

"...And Fletcher was just trying to keep me out of trouble. He tried to talk me out of doing it, but I wouldn't listen. Every chance I got, I'd go out, and once he cottoned on, he would come looking for me. He's gotten me out of more bad situations than I'd care to admit. Especially to him. Skulduggery found out and he wasn't happy, so now he wants me to train at the Sanctuary when you're not here. I met Erskine Ravel." She looked up at Anton. "That guy creeps me out. The way he was looking at me..." She shuddered. "Ew. Anyway...I had a dream before I came here. Which is why I was afraid earlier. Sebastian came to me in my dream. He had his vampires attack you. He told me that he's coming for me. That means he'll be after you as well. He knows who you are." She took a deep breath and put her coffee cup down. "There's something else you should know too."  
Anton had been quiet, listening to her story. He leaned forward, placing his cup on the table between them.  
"I don't know what _this _is,' she said indicating herself and Anton,' but I think you need to know something about me. I know you were part of the Dead Men. Ghastly told me. So, you know them better than I do. You know Skulduggery better than I do..." She hadn't actually out right told anyone this yet. She was worried what Anton would say or do.  
He leaned over the table and grabbed her hands. He smiled.  
"I already know."  
Morrigan blinked at him. "What?"  
"Once you told Ghastly about us..."  
She scoffed. "Of course. Ghastly. He did say something odd after I told him about the first time you kissed me. He said something like 'hope Skulduggery doesn't find out'. I didn't understand what he meant at the time."  
Anton nodded, still holding her hands. "And then you found out that Skulduggery is your father."  
Morrigan felt something shock her in the chest. She still wasn't used to it.  
She tried to smile. "Yea. I didn't say anything because I was worried you wouldn't train me anymore."  
Anton laughed. "Are you kidding? This just gives me a reason to train you harder."  
"Uh." She rolled her eyes, but she was grinning as well.  
"So, is the only reason you didn't tell me because of the training, or...?"  
Morrigan blushed slightly. "I was worried you wouldn't like me anymore, or, you know, be afraid of Skulduggery doing the whole protection thing."  
Anton shook his head, smiling. "I'm fairly certain that's my job."  
Morrigan blinked at him again. "I've been doing well on my own so far, thank you very much. Not even a vampire stratch." She grinned and got up. "I'll show you, if you like."  
"Alright." Anton put the cups in the sink. "Back to training."

Anton didn't get to throw her around as much as he normally would have. She realised that hunting those vampires had been good for her. She had become smarter and quicker. She was stronger, but only a little bit. Combat was not her forte.  
She had learned how to flip herself more easily, and jumped as Anton got close to her. She placed one hand on his shoulder and one on his head as his momentum pushed her. She tucked her legs in and kicked out, pushing herself away from him. She flipped again in the air and landed on her feet, bending her knees so she didn't strain her ankles. She threw out her arms and set a wall of air at him, ran at him, created a step and jumped. Her foot came down towards his jaw. He managed to dodge just in time, and she landed, skidding in the dirt. Lucky he moved. She had put a shield around her foot. She learnt that it hurts vampires more. Breaks jaws.  
In hindsight, it was probably good Anton moved. If she broke his jaw, she would've actually felt horrible.  
She spun as Anton's boot caught her in the shoulder. She fell but swept his legs out from under him. She misjudged and he fell on her.  
Morrigan grinned and then started laughing. She couldn't stop. She rolled to her side gasping for breath.  
Finally she sat up wiping her eyes. She saw Anton smiling out the corner of her eye.  
"God, I have missed this. I've _actually _missed you beating me up. That is so bad."  
Anton chuckled quietly. "Yea. Maybe a little bit. You have gotten better."  
She lay flat on her back and looked up at the blue sky.  
"Maybe those vampire hunts were good for me after all."  
Anton sat beside her and gently kicked her leg. "But you won't be doing it anymore without backup, right? Fletcher Renn does not count as backup."  
"I'm sure he'd love to hear you say that. Although saying that, you do terrify him, so he might not argue. Who else would come with me? I doubt Skulduggery would let Valkyrie come, I doubt Ghastly would. Skulduggery...I highly doubt he'd encourage me by tagging along."  
"I know a couple of others who might enjoy the hunt as much as you."  
Morrigan frowned and sat up. "I sincerely hope you are not implying Erskine Ravel. I wasn't kidding when I said that guy creeps me out. I'd like to avoid him as much as possible, thank you very much."  
Anton laughed. "No. The men I'm thinking about do this kind of thing all the time. Then there's the other members of the Dead Men."  
Morrigan tilted her head. She couldn't kick the habit. "Other Dead Men?"  
"Dexter Vex and Saracen Rue."  
"Ah. Yea, that makes sense. So, who are these other guys then?"  
Anton smiled at her. "You have to agree to take them along next time you decide to go after vampires."  
Morrigan just blinked at him. "If it means I can still kill vampires, I'm ok with it."  
"Are you going to be staying here, while I'm back?"  
Morrigan turned to look at him. She laughed, moved over to him and looped her arm through his, laying her head on his shoulder.  
"I have no idea why you feel like you have to ask that question."  
Anton nudged her gently.  
"So, you don't know what we are?"  
Morrigan shrugged. "I haven't a clue. It sort of just...happened I guess, didn't it? Valkyrie is always teasing me about it, and asking about it."  
"And what do you tell her?"  
She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you worried I would tell her? There's nothing really to tell anyway. Just what we're doing now. Although, Valkyrie doesn't believe me when I tell her it hasn't gone beyond this." She laughed and then stopped. "Unless you're worried about Skulduggery finding out. Are you worried about that?"  
Anton gave her smile, like he was teasing her.  
"I'm only worried about him not finding out from us."  
Morrigan frowned at him. "So, what are you trying to say? Like I'm your girlfriend without even knowing about it?" She said this laughing.  
"Well, you know about it now."  
Morrigan looked at him blankly. "You're serious? I mean, one hundred percent serious?"  
He didn't stop smiling at her, then shrugged. "Sure. Come on. The hotel is having a holiday for a couple of days. We'll invite a few people around."  
Morrigan stared at Anton as he stood up. The breeze played with her hair, but she felt like the world had stopped. She couldn't think and she could barely breathe.  
He held out his hand to her. The next move she made would alter the course of her life and she knew it.  
She took his hand. She had secretly wanted this for ages.  
They started to walk back to the hotel, when Morrigan had a thought.  
"That's why the hotel was completely empty when we walked in. You want to throw a party? Just a tad unlike you, don't you think?"  
"But not unlike you." Anton replied as they walked up to the desk.  
Morrigan sat on the desk and looked him. "Me? Why would I throw a party? Who would I invite? I only know you, Ghastly, Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Fletcher."  
"And Erskine."  
She made a face. "Really?"  
Anton looked at her. There was a glint in his eye. "I want to see his face when he finds out who you are."  
Morrigan grinned and laughed. "My God, we're as sadistic as each other."  
"Tomorrow night. Ghastly, Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Erskine, Fletcher, Dexter, Saracen and the Monster Hunters."  
Morrigan's jaw dropped. "The Monster Hunters?"  
"Oh, I thought you knew that's who I meant about going with you vampire hunting." He was grinning at her.  
Morrigan had heard about the Monster Hunters and had read some of their books. She could almost call herself a fangirl.  
A grin spread across her face and she pumped her fists in the air. She didn't care how she looked. She was excited.  
"Ok, now I'm keen for this party." She stopped, suddenly a thought popped into her head. She looked at Anton with her eyes narrowed.  
"What is this party actually about?"  
"For you to meet everybody. A party setting would be easier for you to handle, and there's alcohol."  
Morrigan grinned. "Oh good. But I get to pick the music."  
"Of course."  
Morrigan jumped off the desk and went to go upstairs. She needed a shower.  
"You're wearing a dress."  
She turned. "No I am not."  
Anton was shuffling papers around, not looking at her. "Yes, you are. I already found you one, since I knew you wouldn't agree."  
She crossed her arms and pouted. "Fine. I'm going to have a shower."

While she was in the shower, Morrigan decided that she would wear her pants and singlet underneath the dress. She doubted that Anton would object to her wearing her hiking boots. Of course, if the dress was a ridiculous colour, she might have some issues.  
She stepped out of the bedroom, dressed and twisting her hair in the towel.  
"So, a party tomorrow night?"  
Morrigan jumped and the towel fell off her head. She looked at Skulduggery and narrowed her eyes.  
"You really got to stop doing that to me." She picked up the towel and decided to just rub her hair dry. "You're lucky I didn't walk out with no clothes on."  
"What's the party for?"  
Morrigan flipped her hair onto her back and shook her head. "Anton said it's so I can meet everyone, so I guess that's why."  
Skulduggery fiddled with his shirt sleeve. "So, there's no _other _reason."  
Morrigan thought for a moment, but nothing obvious popped into her head straight away. She shrugged. She had no idea what he wanted her to say.  
He walked over to her, placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her.  
"Are you sure?"  
Morrigan hestitated. He could be intense when he wanted to be. She could feel the heat rising in her neck and face. That's when she realised.  
"Ah. You know already, don't you?" She nodded. "Of course you do."  
"Know what?"  
He's going to make me say it, she thought. She sighed and motioned over to the couch. They both sat.  
"It kind of just happened, without any intentions. I was more worried about hunting vampires than really seeing what was going on. Then there was also the concern of what you would think..."  
Skulduggery didn't say anything.  
She knew he knew exactly what she was talking about.  
"Oh, come on. You know what I'm trying to say."  
He tilted his head. Sometimes she hated when he did that.  
"You going to make me say it out loud, aren't you?"  
He still said nothing.  
She hesitated. She didn't really want to cause issues, but she couldn't help how she felt either, and she wasn't about to kept it from him forever.  
"Me and Anton." She breathed out. She felt better saying it out loud. More than she thought she would.  
Skulduggery nodded. Morrigan crossed her arms across her chest.  
"Hmm. I knew you knew. I knew it. You just wanted one of us to tell you, didn't you? Well, technically nothing was official until earlier today."  
"I wanted you to tell me."  
"I would have said something earlier, but I honestly had no idea what was going to happen between me and him. And I wasn't about to cause issues between you and him. Easier to let it work itself out."  
"You told Ghastly."  
She blinked at him. "Yea. I needed someone to tell. He's my friend and I didn't know who you were at the time. I thought you hated me back then, so of course I only told Ghastly."  
"Next time, just tell me."  
Morrigan smiled. She wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it, but at least he was talking to her.  
"Hopefully there won't have to be a next time. I'm not going to be making a habit of doing this dating thing. I'm happy with Anton. I don't feel like that's going to change." She tilted her head at him this time. "But...how do you feel about it though? I mean, I know he's not going to hurt me, but you know that, don't you?"  
Skulduggery moved over and hugged her.  
He didn't speak for a minute.  
"I know he wouldn't hurt you. I'm ok with it being him."  
Morrigan hugged him back and smiled. "You're just glad because you can keep an eye on us, right?"  
"Right. Let's go back downstairs."

For the rest of the afternoon, Morrigan, Anton, Valkyrie and Skulduggery talked about what the real reason for this gathering was. Morrigan realised she had been kept in the dark. The people who were invited were the ones that were the most trust worthy. They were going to be told who Morrigan was. The idea scared her. She was still trying to deal with her trust issues.  
She had decided just before Skulduggery and Valkyrie left, that she was glad there was going to be alcohol. She would need liquid courage.

The next day, Anton had Morrigan training most of the day. She was happy about that because it kept her from thinking about all the people she'd have to see later on. The idea still scared her, even after Anton tried to explain why they were telling them. It meant that more people could look out for her and more people she could turn to if she needed too, but she wasn't convinced. Turning to Erskine Ravel for one, did not seem likely in her books. That guy creeped her out more than she had let on. China Sorrows was also one Morrigan avoided whenever possible.

Midafternoon, they went back inside and Morrigan had a long hot shower. She caught herself looking forward to the night. She was curious about what everyone was like. She was curious about how they all interacted with each other. She was mostly curious about how they take being told who she was.  
Morrigan walked into her bedroom to see her dress already laid out on the bed. She hadn't been allowed to see it until tonight.  
The dress was a dark, rust red colour. It didn't have sleeves, but it still had thick straps. It had faint silver and gold markings. Swirls and etchings, similar to the markings on her daggers.  
The skirt part was fluffy and loose, so she could move around easily.  
Morrigan put it on and looked in the mirror. The hem of the skirt come to her ankles, so she could only see her boots.  
It suited her.  
She had been able to put her singlet on and conceal it enough so it wouldn't ruin her look. The pants fit easily under the dress.  
She didn't bother doing her hair, and she was against any kind of makeup. She just never understood any of that stuff.

Morrigan looked at the time and found it was time for her to go downstairs. She was suddenly terrified and didn't want to go down. She shivered and started to rub her arms. Goosebumps covered her arms, but she wasn't cold.  
"You look beautiful."  
Morrigan looked over her shoulder. She narrowed her eyes.  
"What are you doing up here?"  
Erskine Ravel crossed the loungeroom floor. Morrigan turned and stepped back, away from him.  
"I just came up here to check on you."  
"I was expecting Skulduggery or Anton. Or even Valkyrie. Didn't even know you knew which room I was in."  
"I may have glanced at the registery."  
"What do you want, Ravel." Morrigan wasn't feeling comfortable with him knowing where she slept, and the fact he openly admitted that he looked for her made her uneasy to say the least.  
He stepped up to her. He was so close, she could almost feel his breath in her hair. She wanted to back away more but she would have backed herself up against the wall, and she liked that idea even less.  
Morrigan could feel her heart beating so hard, she thought she might faint.  
He didn't answer her, instead just staring at her with his creepy eyes.

She pushed past him and tried to walk to the door. He grabbed her arm and spun her around. His grip was hard and made her gasp. He pulled her to him and grabbed her other arm so she couldn't move.  
His eyes were now more intense. She was scared, but she didn't want him to see it. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him.  
Ravel just grinned at her. He pulled her to him and kissed her with such force, that it hurt. Morrigan could taste blood in her mouth. She couldn't move for a moment. The shock and fear had paralyzed her.  
Once she felt the tingling in her fingertips, she made it spread to her arms and legs. She realised she was dangling off the ground a couple of inches. She pulled her legs up and kicked him in the stomach. He grunted and dropped her.

Morrigan jumped up and ran for the door. She threw it open and bolted down the corridor. She got to the top of the stairs and looked down. She saw a few people already. She didn't see Skulduggery or Anton. She was glad of that. She needed somewhere to check herself over.  
She looked around and saw that the office door was open. She knew there was a mirror in there. She just hoped that nobody was in there.  
She looked behind her, but she didn't see Ravel.  
She looked around, hoped nobody would see her, and vaulted over the bannister. She landed quietly in a crouch, and snuck into the office.  
Morrigan breathed a sigh of relief to see that no one was in there, and closed the door. After a few seconds of debate, she decided to lock it.  
She turned and looked into the mirror that hung in the cupboard. It only showed her head and shoulders, but that was enough.  
Her hair was messier than usual, her eyes were red, her cheeks streaked with tears, her lips ripped, torn and bleeding. Her upper arms where Ravel had grabbed her were red and already showed signs of bruising.  
Morrigan collapsed into the swivel chair and put her head down. She couldn't very well got out and let people see her like this.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Morrigan looked up, eyes wide. She didn't think anyone saw her come in here.  
She made her way slowly over to the door. The knock came again, but a little gentler.  
Morrigan hesitated just for a second. She became invisible and opened the door a crack.  
China Sorrows stood behind the door, looking at where Morrigan was standing as though she could see her.  
"Are you going to let me in?"  
Morrigan stood back, still invisible, and allowed China to step through. Morrigan closed and locked the door again once China was inside.  
"I saw you jump off the landing. I figured there would be a reason why you don't want anyone to see you."  
Morrigan was watching her, but was still invisible. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, let alone China Sorrows of all people.  
"So, you naturally came to see why."  
"Naturally. Could I see you, please? It's unsettling talking to someone I can't see."  
Morrigan didn't do it straight away. She didn't really want to show herself to anyone, but she couldn't face wandering the hotel, alone, looking for somewhere to clean herself up. Not with Ravel here.  
She sighed, and slowly became visible again.  
She saw China's eyes widened a little, and she looked down. She felt tears in her eyes, and she bit her lip.  
She felt a strong hand on her shoulder and the other hand tilt her head up. She found herself eye to eye with China. China actually looked concerned.  
Tears escaped and ran down Morrigan's cheeks. She started to shake and a sob escaped from her hurting lips.  
Morrigan felt China pull her in for a hug. Morrigan held on to China and sobbed so hard that she thought China might scold her. She didn't though.  
Finally, China pulled away and checked her dress. It was emerald green, with silver stones all over the bodice. The dress went to the floor, so you couldn't see China's feet.  
Satsified that there wasn't any blood and tears, she looked again at Morrigan.  
"What happened?"  
Morrigan shook her head. "I can't say." Her voice was barely audible.  
China studied her for a moment.  
"Well, you can't go out there looking like that. I'll go get some water and a cloth to clean yourself up. We'll talk about this when I get back."  
Morrigan didn't have the stomach to argue. She followed China back to the door and locked it when China left.  
Morrigan sat on the chair, replaying the scene with Ravel in her head over and over again. She was so engrossed in the scene in her head, she barely heard the knock on the door.  
Worried it wasn't China, Morrigan became invisible as she opened the door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw China.  
Morrigan let her in, locked it again, and made herself visible.  
China pointed to the chair and Morrigan obeyed. She sat and China kneeled in front of her, dabbing a cold, wet cloth against her face.  
"You need to tell me what happened."  
Morrigan closed her eyes. She didn't want to picture it again, but she couldn't look China in the eye either.  
"So you can have something over me." Morrigan's voice sounded distant, hollow. Like all the life had been drained out of her.  
"No." China replied quietly. "I think that whoever did this, needs to learn a lesson. They need to learn that they can't treat you like this. Treat _us _like this."  
Morrigan opened her eyes. "Us?"  
"Yes. Us. Whatever they do to one, they do to the other. We are tied together, you and I, whether we like it or not. We need to stick together if we are to survive."  
Morrigan still didn't really want to talk about it, but she for once felt relieved she had China on her side. She sighed heavily, as though she was breathing her last breath.  
"I'll tell you, but let's get this party over with first."  
China gently dabbed her bloody lips. "Nearly everyone is here. We won't get another chance to be alone."  
Morrigan was quiet while China finished cleaning her face, then started to examine her arms.  
"I was in my room getting changed. I don't know why I didn't hear my door, but I didn't. I thought it was Skulduggery or Valkyrie or Anton. It wasn't. It was someone else." She took a deep breath and held it. "I turned around and Erskine Ravel was there. Staring at me."  
China blinked at her. "Erskine? He did this to you?"  
Morrigan lowered her eyes and nodded.  
"I tried to walk away, but he grabbed me." She indicated her arms. "Then he..." Morrigan swallowed her tears and pointed to her lips. They felt swollen now. She shuddered as she released her breath. "I kicked him in the stomach and ran."  
China shook head slightly. "I didn't think _he _was capable of something like this."  
"It's ok if you don't believe me, China." Morrigan said in that hollow voice. "I barely believe it myself, and it happened to me."  
"I believe you. The evidence is here." China slid her hand over the bruises on Morrigan's arms. "Unfortunately, I can't do anything about these."  
Morrigan looked at her arms. The bruises had darkened since she first had seen them.  
"It's ok. I think I might be able to..." She trailed off as she concentrated. She focused her invisibility on the bruises alone. She stood up and looked in the mirror. Her face was mostly back to normal. Her eyes were still red, but not as bad. The tear streaks had gone. Her lips weren't as swollen as they felt, no blood but did look like she had been chewing on them.  
Her bruises had disappeared. Morrigan looked from the mirror to her arms. No, the bruises were definitely still there. She could see them, but they didn't show up in the mirror.  
Morrigan turned to China.  
"Ok. Let's get this over with."

China escorted Morrigan out of the office, and to where Anton had set up the alcoholic drinks.  
Morrigan saw there was small bottles of mixed whiskey and coca-cola, and grabbed one. She definitely needed a drink. She opened the bottle and drank fast.  
China shook her head, but said nothing.  
Morrigan stopped drinking and realised she finished the bottle.  
"Oh. That was unintentional." She threw it into a bin that was next to the table and picked up another bottle.  
China sighed. "Who do you know that's here?"  
Morrigan looked around at the crowd of people.  
She couldn't see Skulduggery, Valkyrie or Anton. She couldn't see Ravel either. She saw Fletcher, and pointed to him.  
"I know him, but I don't know anyone else."  
"You know me."  
Morrigan jumped and turned to see Ghastly grinning at her. She grinned back and hugged him.  
"You're as bad as Skulduggery doing that, you know." She scolded, pulling away from him.  
Ghastly laughed, and looked to China.  
"Ghastly."  
"China."  
Morrigan looked at them, hearing the cold tones, and shook her head.  
"I'm not going to ask. Where's the music in this place? I need music. Loud music."  
"Aren't you going to talk to people?" Ghastly looked at her with a concerned look. He had seen her scull that bottle.  
"Nope. Music first, social later, drink now."  
She walked away quickly before he had a chance to ask questions. She looked around for where Anton had put the stereo system.  
She finally found it set up a few metres from the front doors, which had been opened. People still slowly flowed in. It seemed like a lot more people than written on a bit of paper.  
Morrigan fiddled with the stereo until she found where to turn it on. She needed the music and the drinks. She didn't want to think tonight.

She found some music and put it on. She felt like she was being watched, but when she turned, there was no one there. She frowned, and then shrugged.  
The first song that came on was very upbeat. A newer song, but she was ok with that. It made her want to dance.  
Morrigan opened her bottle and had a couple of mouthfuls. She put the lid back on and started to dance.  
She closed her eyes, pretended there was no one around and let her feet do what they wanted. She could feel the smile on her face, but didn't open her eyes again until the song had ended.  
Morrigan noticed that nobody was staring at her. Skulduggery and Valkyrie had evidently arrived while she was dancing, but not even they were paying her any attention.  
Good, she thought, last thing I need is for them to notice something is off with me.

As the night progressed, and after everyone had arrived, Morrigan had met Saracen Rue, Dexter Vex and Tanith Low.  
She met and spoke to the Monster Hunters. She tried so hard not to fangirl over them as they spoke about their books, told her all the things they had done and introduced her to Dai Maybury as another member of the Hunters. She also find out that Fletcher was part of the Monster Hunters, and she punched him in the arm for not telling her about it.

It turned out that when Morrigan felt like she was being watched, she was. By Tanith, who had been sitting on the wall, just above Morrigan's head.  
Morrigan just grinned when she heard that, and laughed. She decided she liked Tanith.  
Skulduggery walked up to her while she was talking to Tanith. Morrigan was on her fourth bottle by that time. It hadn't started to affect her too much. She was just in a happy mood.  
She smiled at Skulduggery as he approached her.  
"Hey."  
"It's just about time." His voice sounded on edge. Morrigan figured he was as nervous as she felt.  
"Time for what?" Tanith asked, looking at both of them.  
Morrigan swallowed the last of her drink. "You'll see in a minute."  
She binned the bottle and followed Skulduggery to the base of the stairs. He had explained to her that she would stand a little higher than him so everyone could see her. She didn't like the idea, but she just wanted it all over with.

Everyone was already looking over and following them to the staircase. Morrigan's hands started to sweat as she climbed two steps up.  
Now that she was higher than everyone else, she could see everyone. She noticed that Valkyrie had brought Gordon. She smiled, and scanned the rest of the crowd. Skulduggery was talking but he hadn't said the important bit yet.  
She looked over as Anton climbed the stairs to stand on the other side of Skulduggery, parallel to her.  
Morrigan continued to search the crowd. She spotted Ravel. He had his eyes on her but was listening to Skulduggery. She kept her eyes on him as Skulduggery came to the part she was waiting for.  
"By now, everyone should have met Morrigan McCord." He held his hand out to her and she took it. "When you were all introduced to her, you weren't introduced properly." Morrigan held her breath as several people started to look confused. "Morrigan is my daughter."  
The room went so quiet, Morrigan could've heard a pin drop. She saw Erskine Ravel's eyes widened at the revelation. She took a lot of satisfaction from his reaction.  
Anton crossed to the other side of her as voices erupted.  
Skulduggery let her hand go and stepped down. People surrounded him and bombarded him with questions. Morrigan was glad they were asking him and not her.  
Anton leaned towards her. "Did you see Erskine's face?"  
Morrigan nodded. "I get so much satisfaction from that, you have no idea."  
Anton laughed and led her down the steps, back towards the drinks. She let out a breath as they walked passed everyone.  
Morrigan picked up another bottle and went back to the stereo. She was ok with letting Skulduggery deal with onslaught of questions and comments. She didn't really feel like dealing with it.

She felt hot all of sudden. She needed to get out of there. Just as she got to the door, she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned to see Gracious and Donegan smiling at her. She smiled back and led them out onto the veranda.  
Donegan stood next to her. "So, Detective Pleasant's daughter, huh?"  
Morrigan leaned on the railing and took a mouthful of her drink.  
She nodded. "Yea. I only found out a year ago, a few months after I met him. It was a crazy time."  
"Well, you have friends now too." Gracious spoke from the other side of her.  
Morrigan smiled. "And you have no idea how grateful I am for that, guys. I thought I handled being on my own fairly well, but now...I don't think I could go back to being alone."  
Morrigan saw something move in the tree line, on the other side of the clearing. She stood up straight and frowned.  
"What is it?" Gracious asked, searching the direction she was looking.  
"Nothing good." She placed her drink down on the ground, and walked down the steps. Donegan and Gracious followed.

Morrigan stopped a quarter of the way across the clearing and held her arm out to stop the Monster Hunters.  
"Through the fire and the flames we carry on." She sang softly to herself.  
A figure stepped out of darkness of the trees and strode towards them. Morrigan felt the Monster Hunters tense up beside her, but she didn't take her eyes off the figure walking towards them.  
The figure stopped in the middle of the clearing, under the beam of moonlight.  
Without taking her eyes off the figure, Morrigan spoke to Gracious.  
"Go get Skulduggery. Now."  
He looked at her, turned and walked quickly back towards the hotel.  
Morrigan started to walk towards the figure.  
"Is this a good idea?" Came Donegan's voice from beside her.  
"Absolutely not." She replied.  
She stopped a metre or so from the figure.  
"I heard you have a name now. Morrigan, I believe?"  
Morrigan kept her eyes level with his. "Sebastian."  
Sebastian smiled and swept into a deep bow.  
Sebastian was tall, broad shoulders, long legs and muscled arms. His dark hair was cut close to his head. His eyes were as dark as his hair. His skin was darkly tanned as though he stood in the sun all day everyday, for a month.  
Morrigan clenched her fists. "What are you doing here?"  
Sebastian straightened himself up, still smiling. "I heard from my source that you were hunting members of my pack."  
"You seem surprised. After what they did to me, you expect me to let that go? Also, Mau is not a source. He's a snitch."  
Mau stepped up from behind Sebastian. "Why you..." He went to lunge towards Morrigan.  
Donegan put his arm in front of her. Sebastian ordered Mau to stop. Morrigan didn't flinch. Her eyes never left Sebastian's. She knew he wouldn't allow Mau to touch her. Not after what he did.  
"I'm here,' Sebastian continued, glaring at Mau,' to bring you home, Morrigan."  
Morrigan let out a hollow laugh. "There is no way I'm going with you. Not now, not ever again."  
Sebastian's smile dropped, and he replaced it with a stern look.  
"Come on, Morrigan. You belong with us. You know you do. You're one of us. You need to come home. We need our Queen."  
Morrigan scowled at him. "I was never your queen, Sebastian, and I never will be."  
This time Sebastian's look turned sour. He was mad. "If you don't come with me willingly, I will be forced to make you come unwillingly, and it won't be pleasant. I don't think your 'friends' will appreciate the force."  
Morrigan narrowed her eyes at him. She spoke very slowly, so that he understood she was serious. "Sebastian. I. Will. Take. Your. Head."  
Just at that moment, Fletcher teleported beside her with Gracious and Dai.  
"Need a hand?"  
Morrigan glanced at him. "Right on queue. As always."  
Sebastian growled and stood back. "If this is how it's going to be..."  
He started to walk backwards. Mau grinned.  
"You're in for it now." He turned and jogged into the tree line. Sebastian stopped between two trees and raised his arms.  
"Last chance to reconsider."  
"There was nothing to consider in the first place."  
Sebastian and shook his head. "Very well." He dropped his arms by his sides. "Bring her to me."  
Morrigan heard growls and snarls in the forrest. She narrowed her eyes.  
"Get ready. He's going to make this the fight of our lives."

Beasts started to emerge from the trees. They surged past Sebastian like he wasn't even there. This wasn't good. Vampires weren't usually this organised.  
Morrigan set her jaw.  
The first line of vampires lunged at them. Morrigan took a couple of steps forward and held her arms out straight ahead of her. The vampires hit the shield.  
Morrigan jolted, but held on. She gritted her teeth and pushed. The shield grew spikes, and pierced a few of the vampires. She threw out her arms, throwing the vampires into the air.  
The Monster Hunters all stepped forward, ready to fight as more vampires came forward.  
Morrigan turned to see Skulduggery and everyone else, come out of the hotel and run towards the fight.  
She leapt onto a vampire that was trying to attack Fletcher. "I don't think so. It's me you're after." She pressed her hands to the back of it's neck and seared it.  
She heard gunshots and people yelling.  
She rolled off the vampire as it turned and ran at her. She dropped, pulled out a dagger from her boot, and pressed it to the vampires stomach as it ran over her.  
Blood, guts and entrails covered Morrigan, but she didn't care. She jumped up and looked around.  
She saw people using all types of weird magic. Streams of light erupted from Vex and Donegan's hands. Morrigan had no idea what that was. She saw Valkyrie using both fire and Necromancy. She turned again and saw China trying to defend against two vampires.  
Morrigan ran to help her. She jumped over one of the vampires and landed just in front of China. The vampires took a few steps back, baring their fangs at her.  
"Yea, that's right. You know exactly who I am, don't you?" She threw her arms out, but instead of her shield, she sent a wall of fire towards them. The vampires turned to ash.  
Morrigan turned to China. "We need to stick together, right?"  
China smiled and nodded. She pressed a pair of weird tattoos on her arms, and walked casually back into the fight.  
Morrigan watched her, shaking her head. How someone could be so calm at a time like this, was beyond her.

Suddenly, there was an arm around her throat. Morrigan instinctly raised her hands to her throat.  
She felt hot breath on her neck, as a voice spoke in her ear. "Sebastian may hold you in high regard, but I certainly don't. You have been a thorn in my side since Sebastian found you, all those years ago. As far as I'm concerned, you're of better value dead."  
"Sebastian will kill you, Mau, when he finds out." The arm tightened against her throat.  
"Sebastian is null and void after you are dealt with. I'm not the only one who can see he has gone soft."  
Morrigan managed a small laugh. "Soft? What part of my life with him was anything but a nightmare?"  
This time, it was Mau who laughed. "Sebastian fell in love with you, Girl. He has become obsessed. He wants you as his Queen. That is never going to happen. After I kill you, I will be killing him too."  
Morrigan narrowed her eyes, and tried to breathe. "You're right about one thing, Mau. That's never going to happen."  
She gripped his arm. She let her flames consume her. Mau loosened his grip and cried out. Morrigan turned, wrapping her arms around his neck. She looked straight into his eyes as she allowed her flames to get steadily hotter.  
"Whatever pain you experience is nothing less than you deserve."  
Mau stared at her, his mouth contorted in pain, but he couldn't make any noise.  
Morrigan grinned at him. "Goodbye, Mau. I'll be seeing you in Hell."  
She felt her fire flare up, and Mau was reduced to a pile of ash.  
She let her flames go out, and looked around. She saw that there were a few vampires left and they were all gathered in a group not far from where Sebastian had been.  
Morrigan saw Anton step towards them. Her eyes went wide, and she ran to him. Someone caught her as she ran past them.  
She turned to see Saracen. He was holding her arms, so she couldn't move far.  
"It's ok. Just watch."  
She turned back to where Anton was standing. The vampires were circling him, looking at him like he was food.  
She watched as he slowly removed his shirt. She frowned.  
"What is he doing?"  
"Just watch."  
Morrigan gasped as this thing burst from Anton's chest and started to shred the vampires around him. The vampires tried to rush him, but any that got close were ripped apart.  
She grinned. It was amazing.  
She looked up into the trees, and saw at least a dozen more vampires getting ready to advance.  
Morrigan pulled away from Saracen, and ran to stand beside Anton.  
She looked at the thing that was tearing up the vampires. She felt the rage raidiating off it. She grinned.  
"Let the bodies hit the floor." She sang softly to herself.  
She stretched out both her arms, and directed her own rage at the thing. She was lending it power.  
It turned to look at her, but she was grinning at it.  
The vampires descended from the trees. The thing turned towards the rest of vampires and screamed. Morrigan barely had time to blink. The vampires were ripped apart in mere seconds. They were all gone.

The thing started to go back towards Anton. Morrigan hesitated, then dropped her arms as she stepped away. This thing didn't like going back. It tried to grab her as it passed, but she just stepped back and shook her head at it.  
Once it had returned, Anton dropped. Morrigan went to him and kneeled in front of him.  
"Are you ok? What was that thing?"  
Anton looked at her and blinked. He looked like he needed rest.  
"Why did you go near it? It could have killed you."  
Morrigan smiled and shook her head. "No, it wouldn't have. It's still you, and you wouldn't hurt me." She hugged him.

Dexter and Saracen helped him to stand. Morrigan stood up too, and turned as she heard clapping.  
Sebastian stepped out of the trees, looking straight at Morrigan.  
"I seem to have underestimated you."  
She turned to face him fully. "No, you underestimated my friends. Now you have nothing left, Sebastian."  
He slowly came closer. Morrigan took a few steps forward and put up her shield between her and her friends. She made sure they could still hear what was being said.  
"I haven't lost everything. I still stand. There's still a chance to get you back."  
Morrigan laughed. "I told you it's never happening."  
"Fight me for it."  
"What?" Morrigan raised her eye brows at him. "Are you insane?"  
Sebastian grinned. "Fight me. If you win, you take my head. If I win, I take you, and leave your friends alone."  
She turned to her friends, thinking about it. She looked at them all in turn. They were all shaking their heads. Morrigan stopped when she got to Skulduggery.  
"Don't you even think about it." He said.  
She smiled. "Too late. Whatever happens, he'll leave you alone. I have no choice."  
Skulduggery said nothing, so she turned back to Sebastian.  
"Fine. If you go back on your word..."  
Sebastian put his right hand up. "Scouts honour."

Sebastian grinned and stepped around, circling her. Morrigan moved away from him, not shifting her eyes from him even an inch.  
He stopped halfway between the trees and the shield. Morrigan stopped too, watching him.  
He lifted his arm. Morrigan heard a snarl and turned to see a giant vampire stalk out of the trees towards Sebastian. Morrigan stared at it, eyes wide. It didn't look like any normal vampire she had ever seen.  
It stood six feet tall on all fours, it's shoulders and arms bulked out with so much muscle, she thought it would burst open.  
It turned towards Morrigan and snapped it's jaws at her. It looked ready to charge at her.  
Sebastian clicked his fingers. The giant vampire glanced at Sebastian, then back at her. It growled and continued towards him. He climbed up onto the vampires back, and opened his trenchcoat to reveil a long sword.  
Morrigan couldn't sure from this distance, but it looked like it was made centuries ago.  
She was definitely in trouble.

Morrigan looked towards her friends. Some of them were shouting at her, most looked concerned. Only Skulduggery and China seemed to be calm.  
She let out her breath and looked towards Sebastian.  
Morrigan crouched and placed both her hands on the ground. The earth started to shift and move upwards. She slowly stood up, her hands guiding the rock.  
As the rock started to form, she stepped back, breathing hard.  
"Please let this work." She whispered to herself.  
Once the rock had settled, she looked up and grinned. Standing before her was a giant spider. It moved it's front legs and chittered, looking around. It's eyes found her, and it studied her.  
She pointed towards Sebastian. The spider turned to look. It chittered some more, then put out a leg so she could climb onto it's back.  
Morrigan stepped onto the spiders back, and sat, crossing her legs just near it's eyes.  
She looked to her friends again. This might be the last time she saw them, so she wanted to burn their faces into her memory.  
She smiled at them, then turned to Sebastian. She narrowed her eyes, and took out her daggers.  
Her spider shifted and chittered excitedly.  
"Shall we?" Sebastian shouted to her.  
Morrigan smirked in his direction. She pat head the spider's head.  
"Let's kill this prick."

The spider reared up, nearly knocking Morrigan off, but she rolled backwards crouching. She held onto one of the rougher parts of it's back. Luckily she still had a hold of both her daggers in her right hand.

Sebastian's mutant vampire charged at Morrigan as her spider ran at it, screeching. They collided against each other, snapping and snarling.  
Sebastian leapt over the creatures heads, towards Morrigan. He had his sword out over his head.  
She lifted her arms in defense as he struck her, and they rolled off the spiders back onto the ground.  
Sebastian landed on her, as he brought his sword down. It thudded into the ground beside her head. Morrigan raised a dagger and sliced his cheek. He growled and stepped away from her.  
She rolled away and stood up slowly, gripping both her daggers tightly.  
The two creatures were still fighting each other, not paying attention to Sebastian or Morrigan.  
"I have to watch you." Sebastian said, wiping the blood from his face. "You're quicker than I thought. Smarter too."  
Morrigan glanced towards her friends. They were all watching her.  
"I'll be taking that as a compliment. I am smarter. Smart enough now to say no to you."  
Sebastian looked at her with half a grin. "We'll see about that."  
He rushed at her. A memory popped into Morrigan's of a day when Anton was training her and he did the same thing.  
Morrigan dropped her daggers into the dirt, and closed her eyes. She felt Sebastian get closer and go in low. She let him pick her up, and throw her over his shoulder. She opened her eyes and grabbed the back of his neck. She swung herself around and kicked Sebastian in the back as she flipped away from him. She landed next to the shield.  
"You're doing fine." she heard someone say. It was either Skulduggery or Anton, but she wasn't sure. She was focused on Sebastian. He was stronger and faster than her.  
Sebastian turned to her. "Very good. Not quite good enough."  
Morrigan frowned. Sebastian picked up one of her daggers and threw it straight at her. It caught her in the shoulder and she screamed. It missed the strap and embedded itself in her shoulder blade.  
Sebastian came at her, picked her up by the throat and pinned her to her shield, so everyone could see her.  
She heard shouts and people thumping on the shield behind her, but it would do no good. The shield wouldn't come down unless she wanted it too, or until she was dead.  
She gritted her teeth and looked around. The vampire and spider were wrestling in the dirt now. Blood and rock everywhere. Morrigan locked her eyes on Sebastian.  
"I thought you didn't want to kill me?" She barely managed to gasp out.  
Sebastian smiled wickedly at her. "I don't, but I said no such thing about not knocking you out."  
His grip tightened on her throat. Morrigan could feel heat in her face. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe.  
Morrigan went limp and Sebastian tossed her onto the ground.

The girl landed on her side, facing Sebastian. Her hair covering her face. She watched as Sebastian looked at her a few moments then turned to the people behind the shield. He started to tell them all the things he planned on doing when he took her back with him.  
The girl slowly stood up. She was quiet. She didn't want to disturb this man. He was on a roll.  
She pulled the dagger from her shoulder and looked at it. She picked up the other one and held them both. She looked towards the vampire and the spider. She held out a hand. The spider collapsed into the ground and the vampire exploded in a red mist.  
She walked towards Sebastian, his back still turned.  
She called her wings. These ones were as black as night, and sharp as the daggers she carried.  
The girl stopped as Sebastian turned. His eyes widened, and he smiled.  
"Well, it seems I have to try harder."  
The girl said nothing as Sebastian pulled his sword from the Earth.  
"Shall we begin again?"  
He raised his sword in front of him and charged at her. She held her daggers out, her wings by her sides.  
She spun as Sebastian got to her. Her wings knocking his sword away. She sliced him a couple of times with her daggers, then spun again, her wings out straight.  
Sebastian stopped, his face slack. He dropped to his knees.  
"I underestimated you."  
That's all he managed to say before he fell sideways, his head rolling away.  
The girl put the daggers in her boots and picked up Sebastian's sword.  
With a yell she slammed the sword into his face.  
She turned to the body. She lifted her hand and disintergrated it.  
"Morrigan?"  
The girl turned to the people behind the shield. She scanned over everyone until her eyes settled on the skeleton. She frowned and tilted her head.  
"Morrigan." It was the skeleton that spoke.  
She slowly walked up to the shield until she was at arms length away.  
Another man stepped up beside the skeleton. He had long dark hair and dark eyes. She wondered briefly why he wasn't wearing a shirt.  
The man's dark eyes searched hers.  
"Morrigan." The skeleton said that name again.  
The girl frowned again, her head still tilted. "That's not my name."  
The man with no shirt put his hand on the shield. She looked at him and then his hand.  
She lifted her hand, hesitated for a few seconds, then placed her hand over his.  
The man spoke this time. "Morrigan?"  
The girl gasped and collapsed. The shield retracted, and the man caught her as she fell.  
The girl passed out.

Morrigan opened her eyes. She looked around, and frowned.  
"Where am I?"  
"You are with me. Safe."  
Morrigan turned. Standing behind her was a girl who looked exactly like her, except for her eyes. Morrigan's eyes were a light green, flected with blue. This girl had violet eyes.  
"Who are you? And where am I really?"  
The girl smiled reassuringly. She held out her arms, indicating the vast plains of dried, cracked earth where they stood. "This is where I reside."  
Morrigan looked around. There was a slight breeze that blew around some loose sand.  
The girl pointed to her head. "You're here. In your mind."  
"My mind?"  
"Yes. I am a part of you."  
Morrigan stepped cautiously up to this girl. She circled her, studying her. She stood back in front of the girl.  
"You're me?"  
The girl tilted her head and pressed a finger to her chin. "Kind of. I like to think of myself a little cooler than you." The girl grinned as Morrigan crossed her arms in front of her.  
"You killed Sebastian."  
"Yes, I did. I didn't like him."  
Morrigan breathed out. "No, yea. You're right about that. Thank you. He would have...not been nice to us."  
"I know." the girl replied. "He was talking about it when I arrived. You're welcome." The girl smiled. "They called me Morrigan. They thought I was you."  
Morrigan looked at the girl. "What is your name then?"  
The girl stood up a little straighter, and bowed deeply as she said...  
"Xylia. My name is Xylia."

Morrigan sat up and looked around. She wasn't in the desert anymore. She was back in the hotel lobby, on one of the couches. She looked around and studied everyone.  
Skulduggery and Valkyrie were talking to Anton at the desk. Gordon was hovering around near them.  
Ghastly and Tanith were near the open front doors, talking.  
The Monster Hunters where all checking the windows.  
Dexter, Saracen and Erskine weren't too far from where Morrigan was sitting, but they were talking amongst themselves.  
She turned her head as she felt someone sit at the edge of the couch.  
"You're awake. Here." China passed her a glass of water. Morrigan took it, and swallowed a few mouthfuls.  
She looked back at China. "So, was I drunk or did the whole vampire thing actually happen?"  
China nodded. "It really happened. Though, I do think you were drunk. Not a good look."  
Morrigan laughed. "Believe me, if I had have known what was going to happen, I would have been maggoted."  
China straightened up where she was sitting. Morrigan turned to see Ravel approaching her.  
She glared at him as he walked up to her.  
"I was wondering if I could have a word? Alone?"  
Morrigan looked around the room. There was noway he would be able to do anything with so many people being able to see them.  
She turned to China. China didn't look too happy. Morrigan just nodded at her, and China stood to leave. She glared at Ravel as she passed him.  
"You told China?"  
Morrigan continued to glare at him. "What do you want?"  
"Yes, right. Well, I just wanted to apologise for what happened earlier. I didn't mean for it to happen like that. I didn't realise...Well, I hope you will forgive me."  
Morrigan stared at him. "You seriously just come up to me to apologise for something that shouldn't have even happened in the first place?" Morrigan laughed. "You're scared. You're only sorry because you found out Skulduggery Pleasant is my father."  
Her voice rose with every syllable she spoke.  
Skulduggery stepped up beside Ravel.  
"What's going on?" He looked from Ravel to Morrigan and back. Morrigan was still glaring at Ravel.  
Ravel put his hands up. "Nothing. Everything is fine."  
Morrigan blinked at him, then glared harder. She felt the fire behind her eyes.  
"Maybe you should leave."  
Ravel glanced at Skulduggery, nodded and turned to leave.  
Morrigan got up just as Ravel got to the front doors.  
He walked out and down the veranda steps.  
Morrigan stood and threw her water glass with as much force as she could muster. It shattered against the doorframe.  
Ghastly and Tanith jumped and turned towards her.  
Ravel didn't stop walking. In fact, he just walked faster.  
Morrigan felt her tears. She shook her head and took a deep breath. She straightened her singlet, and turned with a smile on her face.  
She went to walk past Skulduggery, but he grabbed her arm. She winced. The bruises still hurt.  
"What was that?"  
"Nothing important. It's fine."  
Skulduggery tightened his grip on her. Morrigan looked at him, feeling the tears burn behind her eyelids. She sighed heavily.  
She let the bruises on her arms show. Skulduggery let her go as he saw the bruises.  
"Turns out you were right about him."  
"What happened?"  
Morrigan shook her head. "I think there's been enough drama tonight. I'm leaving this for another time."  
She stepped away quickly before Skulduggery could grab her again. She walked quickly past Anton, who was now speaking to Saracen. They didn't seem to notice her. She was glad of that.  
Morrigan got to the stairs, looked around and turned herself invisible. Nobody was watching her, but they would have seen her climb the stairs.

By the time she climbed all the way to the top of the staircase, she was in tears. She took off at a run down the corridor towards her room. She ran so fast, it only took Morrigan a few minutes to reach her door.  
Morrigan stood in front of her closed door, her hand halfway to the handle.  
Her thoughts wandered back to the start of the night, when Ravel had came to her. She thought about what he did and shivered. Her mind took her forward to when the vampires came. The fight. Sebastian. Mau. All of it.  
Shaking and crying, she felt overwhelmed by everything.

Suddenly, everything went away. Her thoughts, her memories, her feelings. She felt numb.  
Morrigan became visible as she lowered her hand from the doorknob. She turned her head slowly towards the end of the corridor.  
The was a wide window looking out to the forrest behind the hotel. Morrigan glided up to it, not really paying attention to her footsteps.  
_Don't do it_, a voice in Morrigan's head said.  
Morrigan didn't know what she was doing. Her eyes were unfocused, her brain wasn't registering anything.  
She reached for the window and opened it. She climbed up onto the ledge, holding both sides of the window frame.  
Morrigan looked down and briefly wondered if she would hit each and every tree branch on the way down, or miss them all completely. It was a long way down. She was two storys up.  
Morrigan lifted her right foot, letting it hover there for a moment. She shifted her hands so it would be easy to let go.  
Once she was ready, she closed her eyes. She breathed out slowly and let go.

Morrigan felt hands grab her and pull her back. She gasped as she landed on her butt. She blinked and shook her head.  
Before she had a chance to see who had grabbed her, she was surrounded by people hugging her.  
Morrigan closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks again. She realised what she was about to do.  
The people pulled away.  
"What were you trying to do?"  
Morrigan opened and looked around at the faces. She was surprised. She didn't expect to see the Monster Hunters. All of them.  
Fletcher was sitting in front of her, Donegan and Gracious on either side of her, and she could feel Dai's hands gripping her shoulders.  
Morrigan lowered her head.  
"All I do is cause trouble." She said quietly. "I guess that way I wouldn't be a burdened to anyone."  
"I want to hit you for saying that."  
Morrigan chuckled quietly and looked at Dai. "Knock some sense into me? Sorry, wouldn't work. I'm insane."  
"I can see that." Came his reply, but he was smiling.  
Morrigan grinned at them all, tears still in her eyes, but she felt better. These guys were her friends. The last few minutes had proven that more than the rest of the night had.  
They helped her stand up, and then they all looked at each other. They were smiling but there was something behind those smiles.  
"What?" She looked at them. "What are you all smiling about now?"  
Gracious cleared his throat and stepped up to her. Gracious was the only one who didn't tower over her. He was still taller than her, but only by a few inches.  
"We were talking earlier, and we all come to the decision." He stopped talking, watching her for a reaction.  
Morrigan was frowning at him and eyed the rest of them. She didn't know what he was talking about, but whatever it was, it was making the rest of them grin.  
"What decision would that be?" She asked the question slowly.  
"Morrigan McCord, we were wondering if you would become the fifth and final member of the Monster Hunters?"  
Morrigan blinked, and her jaw dropped. The guys were all still smiling at her. Morrigan shook her head, not believing what she just heard.  
"Don't worry." Fletcher stepped forward and pat her shoulder. "I will protect you. Also, Anton said it was alright."  
Morrigan grinned and started to laugh. "_You_ protect _me_? Yea, that'll be the day. Anton said it was ok?"  
"Yea. Apparently he thinks it'll be good for you. We'll all be around, so you won't be going off on your own."  
"Ah. That makes sense." Morrigan thought for a moment. "What does Skulduggery think about it?"  
"I think it's a brilliant idea."  
They all jumped and turned to see Skulduggery leaning against the wall with the his arms folded in front of him.  
Morrigan scowled at him. "Every. Time." She muttered.


End file.
